Im März 2013 begaben sich RIVERS OF NIHIL zusammen mit Death Metal-Mastermind Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, ex-Morbid Angel) in seine Mana Recording Studios (Cannibal Corpse, Goatwhore, Exhumed) in St. Petersburg in Florida, um dort ihr erstes Album für Metal Blade Records einzuspielen, getauft The Conscious Seed of Light. Gitarrist Brody Uttley über diese Zusammenarbeit: “Working with Erik was a true privilege. Coming from the DIY circuit and immediately recording with one of greatest death metal producers of all time pushed us all more than we ever could have expected, both as musicians and as people. We have grown tremendously as a band in all aspects because of our experience with Erik.” Bassist/Sänger Adam Biggs schlägt in dieselbe Kerbe: “Working at Mana was a pretty intense and mind-blowing experience for all of us. We’ve recorded at a few high-level studios in the past but working with Erik is a completely different ball game. The man hears every minute detail of everything being played, which really pushed us to know our music on a level we didn’t realize was possible. Recording The Conscious Seed of Light was an intense experience, and I believe that intensity translates directly to the listener.”

The Conscious Seed of Light ist kein Konzeptalbum im eigentlichen Sinne. Viel mehr begannen RIVERS OF NIHIL dieses Projekt mit Idee, vier Alben zu veröffentlichen, die mit einem durchgängigen roten Themenfaden verbunden sind. Jeder einzelne beschreibt jeweils eine Jahreszeit. Adam erklärt: “The Conscious Seed of Light is intended to be representative of Spring and explores various themes concerning new beginnings, growth, and an attachment to the natural world in a post-human Earth. Unlike some concept records however, we wanted to allow each song to work on its own terms. Rather than have the songs rely on each other to move a specific story structure forward; they work within their own separate narratives, but ultimately serve the album’s broader concept.”

Die Musik von The Conscious Seed of Light entstand dabei auf sehr natürliche Art und Weise. “We had plenty of time to write these songs and even when a song was done being written it didn’t mean that it was actually complete. Many times we would go back and make sure that each track had the proper elements to demonstrate the mood or atmosphere that we wanted the listener to experience”, führt Brody aus. “Instead of locking ourselves into specific ‘styles’ or ‘sounds’ we tried to convey a more universal theme through the music: human emotion. Sadness, happiness, and anger are emotions that we all experience and we felt that many people would be able to relate to our sound if we expressed intense emotions not only through the lyrics, but through the music as well.”

Das Artwork für ihr Debüt ließ die Band vom berühmten Coverkünstler Dan Seagrave anfertigen, der schon für Morbid Angel, Entombed, Suffocation oder Decrepit Birth Coverzeichnungen entworfen hat. “We were a little lost at the start of the artwork process”, gibt Adam zu. “We knew that we wanted to create a mood with the artwork that was indicative of the Spring concepts, but without going too far into it, we didn’t want to see a bunch of flowers on the cover or something like that.” RIVERS OF NIHIL schickten schließlich einen kurzen Überblick über die Scheibe (inkl. einer Beschreibung mit allen Songtiteln, ein paar Texten, etc.) an diverse Künstler, die sie selbst bewunderten. Jeder Artist schien sofort interessiert. Aber es war Dan Seagrave, der zu 100% verstanden hat, wo die Band hin wollte. Brody: “He really tore into it! What we see on the cover is a landscape of a world that doesn’t need mankind, we are relics here, and the sun is the only true master.”

Was also erwartet den Fan auf The Conscious Seed of Light? “Honestly we hope that people will take whatever they’d like from the album”, sagt die Band unisono. “The concept and themes and feelings generated by the music and lyrics are all there to be looked at, but there are also a lot of fun, heavy riffs for people to get into. We want people to hear an aggressive, moody, atmospheric death metal album, but we really hope that people feel the album in their own way.”